Seminole SECME senior (and now recent graduate from Seminole Ridge Community High School) Nadia Beni is an offical entrant into the 2009 AAPT High School Physics Photo Contest. Nadia's photographic genius can be seen here on YouTube.
The AAPT High School Photo Contest provides an opportunity for students to show their creative and artistic talents along with their understanding of physics. The American Association of Physics Teachers (AAPT) sponsors this photography contest for all high school students. Participants may submit an entry in one of two categories: Natural and Contrived. Natural photos are those that involve everyday situations that demonstrate a variety of physics concepts. Any spontaneous event is considered natural (like a girl blowing bubbles). Contrived photos are those in which the objects were manipulated to produce the phenomena photographed, or are set up to show a particular physics concept or related set of concepts. Contrived Photos represent non-spontaneous events (like a girl blowing bubbles being photographed with thermal imaging).
The top 100 photos will be posted for judging during the annual Summer Meeting of the AAPT at Ann Arbor, Michigan, July 25-29, 2009. Photographs are judged on the quality of the photo and the accuracy of the physics in the explanation that accompanies the photograph. Vernier Software & Technology has contributed prizes for first, second, and third place winners, a certificate for honorable mention, and prizes for the teachers of winning students in each category. If Nadia is in the top 100, she will be notified by letter from the AAPT before the national meeting. All prizes and letters of thanks will be sent by AAPT in the fall after the summer meeting.
Entry Number C-413
Essay Title: Thermal Imaging, Refraction, and Surface Tension
Essay: In this photo, a student blows a chain of bubbles. At the same time, a thermal imaging device is directed in her path while she stands in front of the real-time projection of a thermal map. The thermal imaging device used in this photo is measuring the amount of infrared waves being radiated from the substances. The device uses the measurements of infrared radiation and stores the data to create a color-coded map of temperature differences in a setting. The student and the bubbles' thermal energy are radiated away in the form of infrared waves. Some materials, like the bubbles, that are transparent to visible light, appear to be opaque or reflective when shown in the infrared map. In visible light, the soap film on the bubbles show refraction of light into a rainbow spectrum. The spherical shape of the bubbles demonstrates the even distribution of air blown into the bubble and surface tension.
President Thomas Jefferson once said, "I find that the harder I work, the more luck I seem to have." Thank you for all your hard work in SECME, Nadia, and good luck!
UPDATE: Thursday, August 6, 2009
Congratulations to the 2009 High School Photo Contest Winners
This year more than 800 high school students from around the world submitted photographs to this annual competition. Students enter their photographs in either the Natural or Contrived Category. Final winners are selected by attendees during the AAPT Summer Meeting. The Contest is sponsored by Vernier Software and Technology.
In the Contrived Photo Category
1st: Kelsey Rose Weber
2nd: Samantha Nicole Gold
3rd: Christopher Michael Curti
Honorable Mention: Stephanie Fitzpatrick, Rachel Sarah Karten, Jayme Lauren Littlefield, Katie Marie Thompson, Heather Rebecca Wilcox
In the Natural Photo Category
1st Natural: Chase William Lampe
2nd Natural: Bethany Jeanne Schmitkons
3rd Natural: David Abraham Levine
Honorable Mention: Austin Thomas Ferro, Catherine Guenther, Cindy Cin Yee Law, Alexander Craig Norton, Ruijun Wang
Special Recognition: John Stefan Kusiv
